Brian M. Wiprud, Stuffed

Brian M. Wiprud, Stuffed - Manhattan taxidermy collector, fortyish Garth Carson, is touring New England looking for treasures. He stops in Vermont where he purchases an albino crow that he plans to give to his girlfriend Angie for her birthday. As he leaves the store, a young man wearing a Portland College sweatshirt accosts him, claiming the "raven" is his. A few moments later, the younger man, Bret Fletcher, collapses at Garth's feet. The local constable arrives and reluctantly allows Garth with his New York plates and the stuffed bird to drive away.

Angie thinks the crow is a remarkable one of a kind item though she teases her beau that he only gives her dead things. Not long afterward, Jim Kim enters Garth's taxidermy collectibles store insisting he has friends in the market for an albino crow. Soon others follow with each new player seemingly more dangerous than the previous one, which include the Feds. Garth has no idea what he wrought when he bought this present, as this gift is for the birds.

As with PIPSQUEAK, STUFFED is a wild, insane thriller starring a white crow in a jar, but kept together by the bewildered Garth who cannot understand why the Feds, thugs, and crazy "collectors" want Angie's birthday present. The storyline is amusing and wacky as Garth receives offers from daft souls, some of which he delicately better take careful consideration if he refuses them. Brian M. Wiprud provides a terrific thriller STUFFED with the zanies that showcase a likable collector who proves he is no PIPSQUEAK.

Dell, Jun 2005, $6.99

ISBN: 044024188X

Harriet Klausner